Air conditioning assembly for vehicles



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Jan. W, 1940. J. P. GOGGINS AIR CONDITIONING ASSEMBLY FOR VEHICLES Filed Aug. 17, 1958 1| mm H INVENTOR J 4/774 F60 /k BY Z I ATTORN UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE AIR CONDITIONING ASSEMBLY FOR VEHICLES James P. Goggins, Omaha, Nebn, assignor to Interstate Transit Lines, Omaha, Nebr., a corporation of Nebraska Application August 1-1, 1938, Serial No. 225,336

6 Claims. (Cl. 62-117) My invention relates to an air conditioning tion therefrom. The blower suction draws air assembly for vehicles, such as omnibuses, railthrough grille I6 for passage over the water way cars, and the like. being sprayed from spray pipes l4. The evap- Bus transportation systems have grown so orative action of the air stream lowers the temlargely in recent years that there has been a perature of the water, which in turn cools the tendency on the part of transportation comhot compressed refrigerant fluid. The cooled panics to use larger buses. Most States have encompressed refrigerant fluid leaves the conacted State laws limiting the width and weight denser coil 9 through pipe I! and passes into a of motor vehicles which may travel over the receiver l8 from which it passes to the refrighighways of respective States. In view of the erating coil not shown), which is situated in the fact that most railways have had their passenger space to be conditioned. The air stream after cars air conditioned, it has become an economic passing over the water sprays and condenser necessity from the standpoint of competition passes through baffles I!) which serve to knock that bus systems air condition their vehicles durout any entrained moisture. The air stream ing the summer months. The weight of the air then passes, as shown by the arrows, to the inconditioning system obviously is dead weight, take of blower fan l5, and is discharged through which necessitates the carrying of a smaller duct through the partition I adjacent a finned pay load. heat exchanger 2|, thence around the compressor One object of my invention is to provide an head which is provided with air cooling fins 22,

W air conditioning assembly for buses, railway cars and out through discharge opening 23. The 20 and the like. which is light in weight and efilcient motor shaft 24 carries a driving pulley 25, which in operation. actuates the compressor through belt 6. The Another object of my invention is to provide motor shaft 24 is splined by coupling 26 to an an air conditioning assembly for buses in which extension shaft 21, provided with a universal w the compressor of the refrigerating system is op- J' 28 and Operating i bearings 29 and erated by an internal combustion engine and in A drive pulley 3| is adapted to drive a water cirwhich water from the evaporative condenser sysculating pump 32 through driving belt 33. The tern is employed to cool the internal combustion pump shaftis coupled by coupling 34 to the engine. blower shaft 35. A water circulating pump 36 Iiil Other and further objects of my invention will is driven in any suitable manner from the inappear from the following description. ternal combustion engine 4, as, for example, by The accompanying drawing is a perspective driving shaft 38. The pump 36 takes suction view of one embodiment of my invention. from the tank ll through pipe 31 and discharges Referring now to the drawing, the assembly is into the internal combustion cooling jacket. The :45 housed in a casing i, which is adapted to be reinternal combustion engine cooling water leaves inovabiy positioned in a compartment 2, provided the cooling jacket through pipe 39 and passes within the bus or vehicle body 3. through a heat exchanger coil 40, provided with An internal combustion engine 4 is adapted to fins 4| forming the heat exchanger 2|. The hot drive a refrigerant fluid compressor 5 through a engine cooling water is cooled by heat exchange belt 6, or in any other suitable manner. The with the air stream being discharged through 40 internal combustion engine 4 and the compressor duct 20. The cooled engine circulating water h are mounted in a compartment 6 separated leaves the heat exchanger 2| through pipe 42 from the remainder of the casing l by a partition and is discharged into the sump 43 of the evapll. The refrigerant fluid from the refrigeration orative condenser proper. The water discharged .il coil not shown) is compressed in compressor through the spray pipes l4 falls into the sump w 'and discharged through pipe 8 to a condenser it along with the engine cooling water. The coil 9, which is provided with a plurality of fins pump it takes suction from the sump 43 through ill. Water from tank M, which may be situated pipe M and pumps the sump water through pipe at an elevated place, flows by gravity from the it into the reservoir tank ll. tank through pipe H2 to a manifold it, from It will be observed that I have accomplished which it flows through spray pipes i l for showthe objects of my invention. By eliminating the ering over the condenser coil 9 and the associated radiator for the internal combustion engine and fins iii. A blower fan i5 is mounted within a the water reservoir for said radiator, I am enblower casing iii, which is situated in the evapabled to save considerable weight. The volume my orative condenser compartment, and takes sueof air necessary to operate the evaporative con- 66 denser is more than suflicient to cool the engine circulating water and the engine compartment, including the compressor head. The amount of water circulated through the internal combustion cooling jacket forms only a minor part of the total water circulated through the spray nozzles. The arrangement is such that the engine .jacket is kept at a temperature in the vicinty of to This cooling water is cooled to a much lower temperature by the heat exchanger 2|. The water discharged through pipe 42 into the sump 43 is, of course, at a considerably higher temperature than the remaining water in the sump, but the quantity of water from pipe 42 is but a small part of the stream of water flowing into the sump from the spray nozzles. 1

My arrangement is independent of the motion of the vehicle and will operate whether the bus is stationary or traveling.

It will be observed that the evaporative condenser air not only cools the engine circulating water by heat exchange, but also cools the enfrequently necessary to heat the vehicle, and in some instances the outside temperature at night may go below freezing. This is especially true in a bus traveling, say, from St. Louis to the west coast. During the day, in Missouri and Kansas, air conditioning would be required. In Colorado at night the temperature may be below freezing. If the water in the condenser sump "is not maintained at above freezing, damage to the parts may occur. The coil 46, therefore, acts as a safety means to prevent freezing of the condenser water, it being understood that the sole noid valve 49 is set to operate when the outside temperature is 32 F. or lower.

It will be understood that certain features and sub-combinations are of utility and may be employed without reference to other features and sub-combinations. This is contemplated by and is within the scope of my claims. It is further obvious ,that various changes may be made in details within the scope of my claims without departing from the spirit of my invention. It is, therefore, to be understood that my invention is not to be limited to the specific details shown and described.

Having thus described my invention, I claim:

1. In combination with a vehicle an air conditioning assembly including a compressor, an internal combustion engine connected to drive said compressor, a condenser coil adapted to cool the hot compressed refrigerant fluid, a water reservoir, means for spraying water from said reservoir over said condenser, a sump for the cation between said pump and the engine cooling water jacket, means providing communication between the cooling water jacket of said internal combustion engine and said condenser water sump, a second pump, means providing communication between said condenser water sump and said second pump, and means for passing water from said second pump to said water reservoir.

2. The combination as in claim 1 in which said means providing communication between said internal combustion engine cooling water jacket and said condenser water sump includes a heat exchanger positioned in the path of the air stream being moved by said blower.

3. An air conditioning assembly including in combination a housing, a partition dividing said housing into two compartments, an internal combustion engine and a compressor positioned in one of said compartments, means for operatively connecting said internal combustion engine to said compressor, a condenser coil and a blower fan positioned in the other of said compartments, said partition being provided with an opening, a duct providing communication between said opening and said blower fan, whereby said blower fan is adapted to pass an air stream through both of said compartments, a water reservoir, means for spraying water from said reservoir over said refrigerant fluid condenser, a condenser water sump for collecting sprayed water, means for circulating water from said sump to said reservoir and back to said sump, said I internal combustion engine being provided with a cooling water jacket, means for passing water from said reservoir through said cooling jacket and to said sump, said housing being provided with openings in respective compartments whereby an air stream may pass from the atmosphere through said compartments for discharge again to the atmosphere, said air stream having in its path the water sprayed over said condenser.

4. An air conditioning assembly as in claim 3 including in combination a heat exchanger positioned in the path of said air stream between the discharge of the circulating water from the internal combustion engine cooling jacket and the condenser cooling water sump.

5. An assembly as in claim 3 in which said condenser cooling water sump is provided with heating means, and a valve controlling the pas- 

